EU Softens Offer to Canada, Drops 'Associate Member' Talks Ahead of Montreal Summit

The European Union has retreated from its offer to open talks with Canada on "associate membership", following disagreements among member states just as an EU-Canada summit was about to begin in Montreal.

A draft joint statement due after the two-day summit, which runs Thursday and Friday, contains a diluted formulation. It describes "an ever closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself". The Guardian has seen the draft.

The idea originated last month, when European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen surprised nearly everyone in her state of the union address by saying the bloc would consider associate membership for Canada. The announcement was hailed as a landmark, since it would give a non-EU country unusually close ties to the bloc, which has admitted no new member since Croatia in 2013. It was also read as evidence that Canadian prime minister Mark Carney's January call at Davos for "middle powers" to cooperate was bearing fruit.

Instead of launching a work programme on associate membership, the draft says the two sides would "work to define by the 2027 EU-Canada summit the concept of an ever closer association of Canada to the EU". It adds that this would reflect shared goals of prosperity, economic security and strategic autonomy. An earlier draft had referred to Canada as an "associate member" at least twice, and acknowledged that defining the term would take another year.

Von der Leyen's announcement caught EU capitals off guard and drew political and legal pushback. Because associate status has no definition, diplomats questioned whether Canada might sit on the European Council, join legislative bodies, or take part in decision-making without a vote. The concept had been floated and rejected before for countries such as Ukraine.

At a Monday meeting, EU ambassadors raised concerns and resolved to find a diplomatic way to withdraw the offer without embarrassing von der Leyen. Italy reportedly proposed "associate membership as proposed by the commission", with member states settling the definition later. Germany went further, suggesting the "ever closer association" wording. Berlin argued that associate membership should be an interim step for prospective candidates such as Ukraine or Montenegro, and noted that it has no formal basis in current EU treaties. One diplomat said that apart from von der Leyen's closest staff, "nobody was consulted", adding: "This is all about fixing the plane while it is flying."

US president Donald Trump had earlier called the proposal "laughable" and said that if he saw it as a "hostile act", the US might stop trading with Europe "on many things".

The summit comes as Carney seeks new trading partners amid a bitter trade war with the United States. Ahead of the meeting, TD Economics, part of one of Canada's largest banks, published a report saying deeper economic ties with Europe offered "meaningful" upside, with tens of billions of dollars in extra trade possible if barriers fell in areas such as defence, energy, critical minerals and digital markets. Carney has also spoken of reducing reliance on Elon Musk's Starlink network after a decision to throttle its use over Ukraine.

Carney has said Canada has no interest in formally joining the EU, despite concerns from political rivals. Aligning Canadian laws with European standards would probably be unpopular, even though the public supports stronger ties. He told reporters on Tuesday that the summit launches further formal negotiations over the coming year. "The good news is it doesn't matter about specific names or nomenclature," he said. "What matters is the difference it will make to the lives of Canadians."